Long Island municipalities spend hundreds of thousands on Washington lobbyists

WASHINGTON — Suffolk County and at least five other Long Island municipalities are spending hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars this year for representation in Washington beyond what locally elected members of Congress provide.

Lobbying records filed with the U.S. Senate and House show that the towns of North Hempstead, East Hampton and Oyster Bay, the villages of Garden City and Bellport, and Suffolk County are among several counties and municipalities in New York that are paying outside lobbying firms to influence Congress and the Trump Administration.

Overall, those six municipalities already have dished out more than $300,000 through the first three-quarters of 2025 for lobbying pursuits that include airport privatization, coastal erosion, water and wastewater infrastructure and other community development projects, as well as the status of a former military facility in Garden City.

Critics say the practice, while not new, is a duplicative waste of taxpayer money. "Local governments are devouring their own taxpayer resources to lobby other levels of government, when most taxpayers think they have elected representatives to do much of this same work," Pete Sepp, president of the National Taxpayers Union, said.

Officials from the municipalities defend the lobbyist hirings. They argue these specialists are able to cut through red tape, analyze legislative and regulatory strategies or needs, and are skilled at identifying grants, programs and funding streams that mesh with their localities' particular needs and objectives.

"In order to level the playing field with larger municipalities like New York City, North Hempstead has long relied on specialized firms that monitor grant opportunities and budget negotiations in real time," town spokesman Umberto Mignardi said. The town is described in the disclosure filings as having paid roughly $60,000 to the firm of Davidoff Hutcher & Citron, LLP for lobbying so far this year.

Magnardi said the practice has been successful.

"A perfect example would be the more than $3 million in federal funds we obtained last year for our graywater recovery project, a key environmental initiative," he said.

The quarterly Senate and House lobbying filings show that the Village of Bellport paid that same firm $40,000 for lobbying before terminating that work mid-year, and that both the Village of Garden City and Suffolk County also have paid the same firm $60,000 each so far this year.

The Town of Oyster Bay employed representatives of another firm, Thorn Run Partners, for about $40,000 through mid-year; and the Town of East Hampton is listed as paying Elevate Government Affairs, LLC, through its airport counsel, about $40,000 during the first part of the year before a termination report was filed.

That firm was retained on an as-needed basis to support the town’s work with federal agencies and officials in regard to the East Hampton Town Airport, a town spokesman said.

'Certainly is not illegal'

This "intergovernmental lobbying" is just a sliver of a huge and thriving industry in Washington that receives tens of millions of dollars each year from other Long Island and New York State-based public and private universities, public authorities, companies, Native American groups and nonprofits to work the halls of Congress and federal agencies on their behalf.

The list just from Long Island is widely varied, ranging from Stony Brook University, LIU Post, Nassau Health Systems Corp and JetBlue, to the Fire Island Pines Property Owners Association.

A New York State-wide list is even more varied — with Washington lobbyists working on assignments from The Metropolitan Opera, the American Museum of Natural History and Scenic Hudson, to major sports leagues.

But local governments' hiring of lobbyists to influence federal government policies is seen by some critics as different. The city of Buffalo and Onondaga, Niagara, Orleans, Chautauqua and Genesee counties are among other New York State local governments who’ve paid for Washington lobbyists this year.

"It certainly is not illegal, but it does consume taxpayer dollars unnecessarily," said Craig Holman, a lobbyist for the nonpartisan Public Citizen group that emphasizes government accountability, who agreed with Sepp.

Holman argued that local officials, such as the mayor or other officers, are far more effective voices for local interests than paid lobbyists. From his view, they "just do not want to take the time to monitor state and federal actions and step in to influence the results."

Sepp, of the National Taxpayers Union, said taxpayers need to understand that they are essentially paying twice for some of the federal funding these lobbyist help to secure, since members of Congress can do the same work. He also said he found it interesting that four of these Long Island municipalities hired the same firm.

Two representatives of Davidoff Hutcher & Citron, LLP listed on the forms did not respond to emailed messages for comment on what they deliver to those local governments.

'Longstanding practice'

Suffolk County spokesman Michael Martino defended the practice. "Municipalities working with consultants to obtain grants and other federal funding is a longstanding practice," Martino said," one that can result in obtaining millions of dollars for the benefit of the taxpayers."

Brian Nevin, an Oyster Bay spokesperson, said the town hired a lobbyist "to strengthen our ability to secure competitive grant funding for major infrastructure projects."

"We work very closely with our congressional representatives, and federal grants are awarded through executive agencies based on highly technical criteria. A lobbyist helps navigate those complex programs and identify new funding opportunities," he said.

The decision to pay for federal lobbying has helped Garden City to come away better informed and better prepared in terms of navigating complex grant opportunities, and in gaining insights into pending and existing legislation, village Mayor Ed Finneran, said

Mignardi, the North Hempstead spokesman, said it has helped to secure additional state and federal funding, reducing the burden on local taxpayers.

"In that light," he said, "it’s been largely successful."